Wednesday, April 23, 2014

About a year ago, I was introduced to Banoffee pie and it immediately claimed a spot on my favorites list. But I didn't realize how unbelievable easy it is to make until this past weekend when I experimented with First Prize Pies' recipe! Allison Kave's book just came out and it's filled with seasonal pie recipes, Banoffee being one to whip up in the summer, and you should check it out if you're a big pie fan, but totally don't want to just make plain fruit pies. But back to my pie which was described as "a cloud of orgasm"....

I was experimenting with pie because I was really experimenting with Quadratini wafers. Loacker is currently running a Pinterest contest involving recipes made with their little wafers and I'm in it!! So, with my gratis bags of wafers--one each of chocolate, vanilla and lemon--I set out to form a recipe. Except I am not in a place in my semester to really invest hours in the kitchen and after I saw the recipe for Banoffee in the book, I *really* wanted to make it.

Banoffee is traditionally made with whole wheat digestive cookies, but we don't have those in my neighborhood meaning honey graham crackers got subbed in for the crust. Following that is a layer of dulce de leche--I did the can boiled in water method. Then slices of banana, a layer of chocolate wafer crumble, and homemade whipped cream. And that's it. Well, except for the little decoration on top. But really, that's it! If you have dulce de leche already made, this entire pie takes about a half hour to 45 minutes to pull together and doesn't involve rolling anything out. And really, who actually likes regular crust more than cookie crust?

Banoffee Pie with Chocolate Wafers
Makes one 9-inch pie
Time: ~30 minutes active unless you have to make the dulce de leche

To make dulce de leche, submerge an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk--label off!--in a deep pot of water, making sure that the water fully covers the can. Cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Once there, turn down heat to medium or enough to allow for a rolling boil, and boil for about 3 1/2 - 4 hours. When done, turn off heat and let the water and can fully cool. (I did all of this the night before, leaving the water and can to cool overnight.)

Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Make your favorite graham cracker crust and place in oven for 15 minutes to set. Allow to cool. While doing this, I hand crumbled the Quadratini in a plastic bag, breaking them into small chunks.

Once everything's cool and ready, make the whipped cream. Place the heavy cream in a middle mixing bowl and whip using a hand mixer or whisk until stiff peaks form, about a few minutes of whipping. Now, spread the dulce de leche into the crust. Slice the bananas on top of the dulce de leche. Place the layer of wafer crumbles, and then dollop all the whipped cream on top. Decorate with more crumbles, chocolate shavings or a dusting of cocoa powder. Serve immediately.

About this contest. It's all happening over on Pinterest where I've finally created an account. The recipes that are pinned the most make it into the final round. Judges then determine a winner--who will win a $1000 Amex Gift Card! That's a lot of pie crusts! So, please go repin me with the #PureIngredients! Also, you can head over to their Facebook and get a $1 off coupon for your own wafers (and seriously, this is one of those cookies where you eat the whole bag in one sitting.)